Governor Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes landslide
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes Tuesday afternoon, two days after power was shut off to hundreds of residents amid ongoing land movement.
The affected area on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has been part of a decades-long, slow-moving landslide, but last spring rains greatly accelerated land movement.
The governor's declaration acknowledged the Greater Portuguese Landslide Complex "has significantly accelerated following severe storms in 2023 and 2024...sliding at an average of 9 to 12 inches per week."
The declaration read it was issued to "...protect public safety amid ongoing land movement that has resulted in disrupted utility services and evacuation warnings for impacted residents."
Rancho Palos Verdes city leaders, county leaders, and community members all had been pleading for help from the state and federal government, saying the situation was unprecedented and too big for the city to deal with alone.
The governor's emergency declaration comes days after Southern California Edison shut off power to more homes in the area. On Sunday, the utility cut power to 140 homes and 53 businesses in the Portuguese Bend area. On Monday, the power was cut to 105 more homes in the Sea View area, with 20 of those homes shut off indefinitely.
The utility cut-off followed SoCal Gas abruptly shutting off gas to 135 homes in late July.
"Due to worsening land movement, SoCalGas has determined it is unsafe to continue providing natural gas service in your community," said a statement from the company. "We apologize for this unexpected disruption of service. This dynamic situation requires we take immediate action to protect public safety."
As Southern California Edison announced power shut-offs, LA. Supervisor Janice Hahn urged Gov. Newsom to visit the area personally and provide further assistance.
"This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging that one city or one homeowner's association should not have to bear this burden alone," she said.
The city of Ranchos Palos Verdes declared a local emergency last month. The city's leaders and community members continued to express frustration over what they said was a delayed response from the governor.
"On August 6 when we had our gas situation when 135 homes lost gas service, we had written to the governor to declare a state of emergency for that sudden shut-off. And the reason for that request was so that the individual residents can get financial help to help them convert over to electric power," Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank said earlier.
On Sept. 2, the mayor said they still had not heard anything from the governor.
"We have not heard back from the governor regarding that specific request -- that was all the way back on August 7th when he received that letter," Cruikshank said.
The governor's declaration said the "Governor's Office of Emergency Services has been coordinating with emergency response officials in Los Angeles County for nearly a year, including providing Rancho Palos Verdes city officials and county officials with technical assistance, offering guidance on the Standardized Emergency Management System, attending supporting the local assistance center, facilitating the federal mitigation grant that is helping to support the recent groundwater work in the area, and helping officials with initial damage estimates."
The declaration allows the state to provide further assistance and for local agencies to comply with the guidance of the Office of Emergency Services, per the State Emergency Plan. Residents in the affected areas are being asked to follow emergency officials' directions.